The Venetian Patriciate

The ruling families of the Republic of Venice used no other aristocratic title than Patrician of Venice. From among these patricians was elected a doge, who along with other patricians shared governance through the Maggior Consiglio (Great Council), the supreme legislative body of the state. For 1100 years, between 697-1797, 101 ruling families were inducted into Venice's patriciate and divided into 4 classifications. The old families became Venetian patricians between the 7th- 9th centuries. The new families were added to the patriciate after the Serrata of the Great Council in 1297. The very new families were added in 1381 during the war against Genoa, and the on payment families became Venetian patricians in the mid-17th century after helping fund the War of Candia. The complete list of the Venetian patriciate is listed below.

Existing Families

1. AVOGARDO: A feudal house of Brescia admitted to the Maggior Consiglio in 1438 for distinguished service to the Republic.


2. BADOER: Perhaps the oldest family of the Republic of Venice, descended from the Parteciaci or Partecipazi, who produced 7 doges, including Agnello, elected in 811 after the Frankish invasion and the transfer of the capital to the islands that comprise modern-day Venice.


3. BAGLIONI: Prominent members of the printing industry who were admitted in 1716.


4. BALBI: One of the families that remained in the Maggior Consiglio after the serrata of 1297.


5. BARBARO: An illustrious family, originally of ancient Roman consuls of the gens Catellia. The Barbaro family is defined by three main branches: San Vidal (now extinct) of the humanists Marc'Antonio and his brother Daniele, both of whom were patrons of Palladio and Veronese; San Giorgio of a line from Malta, holding the German title Count von Zimmermann and the Maltese title Marquis di San Giorgio. The branch's current head is Anthony Cremona Barbaro; San Gregorio of the sole existing Venetian line, holding the Italian titles of Patrician of Venice and Baron dell'Albergo, along with an Austrian comital title after the Ausgleich of 1867 as His Illustrious Highness, Princely Count of the Grand Principality of Transylvania to the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. The branch's current head is Vitus Sebastian Barbaro .


6. BAROZZI: One of the 12 apostolic families (one of the original 12 founding houses of the "old families") , whose heirs included a patriarch of Grado, and whom held the fiefdom of Santorini in the Cyclades.


7. BEMBO: An "old family" descended from the tribunes, whose members included Doge Giovanni, elected in 1615, and Cardinal Pietro, the celebrated humanist and poet.


8. BON: One of the families admitted to the patriciate before 1297, whose members included 2 procurators of St. Mark's and several distinguished diplomats.


9. BONLINI: A family from Brescia. Two branches of which were admitted in 1667 and 1685.


10. BRAGADIN: One of the "old families", perhaps descended from Doge Orso Ipato (d. 737), who produced 8 procurators of St. Mark's, one cardinal, and a number of other illustrious heirs, including Marc'Antonio, who courageously defended Famagosta against the Turks in 1572.


11. BRANDOLINI: A military family from Romagna that was admitted in 1686.


12. BUZZACCARINIA: A noble Paduan family that was admitted in 1782.


13. CAISELLI: Aristocrats from Udine who were admitted in 1779.


14. CANAL: One of the "new families", who produced 2 naval commanders, 4 procurators of St. Mark's, and the famous 13th-century chronicler Martino.


15. CAPPELLO: A "new" house whose heirs included 10 procurators of St. Mark's, and any number of ambassadors and naval commanders. Bianca Cappello was Grand Duchess of Tuscany from 1578 to 1587.


16. CARMINATI: A family from Bergamo that was admitted in 1687.


17. CICOGNA: One of the "newest" houses, admitted in 1381 for distinguished service to the Republic during the war against Genoa, whose members included Doge Pasquale (d. 1595).


18. CIVRAN: One of the "new" families that remained in the Maggior Consiglio after the serrata of 1297.


19. COLLALTO: An illustrious feudal family from Treviso, admitted in 1306 for distinguished service to the Republic, who produced any number of military heroes.


20. CONDULMER: Admitted to the patriciate in 1381, the family produced 2 cardinals, one of whom became Pope Eugenius IV in 1431.


21. CORNER: One of the oldest houses of Venice, probably of ancient Roman origin. Among its members were 4 doges, 22 procurators of St. Mark's, 9 cardinals, and many distinguished ambassadors and generals. Caterina Corner was the wife of King James II of Cyprus, and the island of Cyprus was ceded to the Republic of Venice in 1489. The family's name is also spelled "Cornaro".


22. CORRER: A "new" house that produced 7 procurators of St. Mark's and 2 cardinals, one of whom became Pope Gregory XII in 1406. In the early part of the 19th century, Teodoro Correr founded an art museum that bears his name.


23. DOLFIN: One of the most illustrious of the "old" families, whose heirs included one doge, 14 procurators of St. Mark's, 6 cardinals, and any number of distinguished men of letters.


24. DONA: A "new" house with two seperate branches: Dalle Rose of which its members produced 3 doges, including Leonardo, who was one of the most significant figures in Venetian history; Dona of which its members produced 8 procurators of St. Mark's, one cardinal and a number of distinguished men of letters.


25. DONDI DALL'OROLOGIO: An old Paduan family admitted to the Maggior Consiglo in 1653.


26. EMO: A "new" family that produced a number of important political figures, including Angelo, who was commander of the last great naval victory in the history of the Republic (1784-1786). The house's current head is Umberto Emo Capodilista.


27. FOSCARI: The most famous member of this illustrious family was Doge Francesco, who was the driving force behind Venetian expansionism on the mainland. After he abdicated in 1457, the tragic fate of his only son, Jacopo, whose story was immortalized by Byron and Verdi, became the torment of his old age. The family was eventually excluded from the ranks of the patriciate at the end of the 18th century as a result of a marriage not approved by the Avogadori di Comun. The Republic later awarded them the right to use the title of count. The house is known for its magnificent Gothic palace on the Grand Canal, which now houses the University of Venice, and for their Palladian villa in Malcontenta. The current head of the Foscari family is Antonio Foscari Widmann Rezzonico.


28. FOSCOLO: Among their many distinguished family members, the procurator Leonardo achieved lasting fame as a naval commander. During the Middle Ages, the Foscolo family was the feudal overlords of the Island of Amafi in the Cyclades.


29. GHERARDINI: A Veronese family of Florentine origin admitted in 1652.


30. GRADENIGO: One of the 12 "apostolic families", whose heirs included 3 doges, 14 procurators, 2 cardinals, and any number of distinguished diplomats.


31. GRIMANI: One of the most illustrious of the "new families", who produced 3 doges, 21 procurators, 3 cardinals, and several distinguished diplomats and admirals. The extraordinary collection of archeological findings acquired by Cardinal Domenico, Patriarch of Aquileia, which he bequeathed to the Republic upon his death, formed the nucleus of the Museo Archeologico Marciano.


32. LOREDAN: Another of the great "new" families, whose members included 3 doges, 12 procurators of St. Mark's, and any number of naval commanders. Doge Leonardo, who was at the very center of the resistance movement against the League of Cambrai, also built the magnificent palace on the Grand Canal that now bears the name Vendramin Calergi.


33. MANIN: An influential family from the Friuli who had their roots in Florence. Among the heirs to the families admitted to the patriciate in the 17th century as a result of having donated 100,000 ducats to the war effort. Lodovico Manin was the only member of the family to be elected doge and served as the Republic of Venice's last doge.


34. MARCELLO: A "new" house, probably of ancient Roman origin, which produced one doge, 6 procurators, the celebrated 18th-century musician Benedetto, and a number of famous admirals, including Lorenzo, who lost his life during the naval attack on the Dardanelles in 1656. The current head of the family is Vettor Marcello.


35. MARIN: Among the illustrious members of this ancient family was Carlo Antonio, who achieved lasting fame for his treatises on the Venetian economy.


36. MEMMO: One of the 12 "apostolic families", whose heirs included Doge Marcantonio, elected in 1612, and probably Doge Tribuno Menio, who was deposed in 991, as well as 5 procurators of St. Mark's, one of whom was Andrea, a distinguished diplomat and personal friend of Giacomo Casanova.


37. MINIO: A patrician family that produced several senators and ambassadors for the Republic of Venice.


38. MINOTTO: An "old" family whose members included Giovanni, the Bailo of Constantinople, who perished while defending the city against the Turks in 1453.


39. MORO: A "new' house that produced one doge and 6 procurators of St. Mark's.


40. MOROSINI: One of the 12 "apostolic families", whose heirs included 4 doges, 27 procurators of St. Mark's, and 2 cardinals. During the 10th century, the two opposing political factions in the city were the Morosini, who were in favor of maintaining close ties with Byzantium, and the Coloprini, who supported a policy of rapprochement with the Holy Roman Empire.


41. MOSTA: A "new " family that counted among its more illustrious members the famous navigator Alvise da Ca' da Mosto , and the historian Andrea, a renowned paleographer and chronicler of the history of the doges.


42. NANI: One of the "newest" houses, admitted in 1381, whose members included 6 procurators of St. Mark's. Perhaps their most illustrious heir was Battista, who achieved lasting fame during the 17th century as a skilled diplomat and student of history.


43. ORIO: An "old" family who once owned part of the property on which the Rialto district was built in the 12th century.


44. PASQUALIGO: A family with two separate branches, one of which was admitted to the Maggior Consiglio in 1297, and the other in 1381. Among its more distinguished members were three procurators of St. Mark's, and several ambassadors and admirals.


45. PERSICO: A family from Bergamo that was admitted in 1685.


46. PIZZAMANO: A "new" house whose members included Domenico, who developed the Port of Venice against the French in 1797.


47. PRIULI: One of the most illustrious of the "new" families, who produced 3 doges, 14 procurators of St. Mark's, and 5 cardinals.


48. QUERINI: An 'old" house of descent from Doges Maurizio and Giovanni Galbaio. Along with the Tiepolo and Badoer families, they were the organizers of a plot to overthrow the government in the year 1310. Among the most illustrious members of the family were 15 procurators of St. Mark's, and Cardinal Giovani, who was the last feudal overlord of the Island of Stampalia in the Dodecanese.


49. REDETTI: A family from Rovigo that was admitted to the Maggior Consiglio in 1698.


50. RENIER: Admitted to the patriciate in 1381, the family produced Paolo (d.1789), who was the next to the last doge of Venice, and Giustina, the wife of Marcantonio Michiel, who achieved lasting fame as a learned writer and brilliant polemicist.


51. ROMIERI: One of the "newest" families admitted in 1689.


52. SANDI: A family from Feltre, admitted in 1685, whose members included Vettor, a famous historian of the 18th century.


53. SORANZO: An "old family" whose heirs included one doge and 16 procurators of St. Mark's.


54. SPADAFORA: A feudal house from Sicily, admitted in 1409, whose members included several prominent politicians. The family's name is sometimes spelled "Spatafora".


55. TIEPOLO: One of the most illustrious of the 12 "apostolic families", whose heirs included 2 doges, 7 procurators of St. Mark's. The organizers of the infamous plot to overthrow the government in 1310 were led by Biamonte, popularly known as the "grand gentleman".


56. TREVISAN: One branch of the family remained in the Maggior Consiglio after the serrata of 1297, another was admitted in 1381, and a third became Venetian nobility in 1689. Among its more distinguished members were 1 doge and 10 procurators of St. Mark's.


57. VALIER: One of the oldest houses in Venice, undoubtedly of ancient Roman origins. Among its members were 2 doges and two cardinals.


58. VAN AXEL: A family of very wealthy merchants, admitted in 1665.


59. VENIER: One of the most distinguished of the "new" families, who produced 3 doges, including Sebastiano, who defeated the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto, and 21 procurators of St. Mark's.


60. VERONESE: A noble family from Treviso, admitted in 1704, who produced one cardinal.


61. ZORZI: An "old" family whose heirs included one doge, one cardinal, 11 procurators of St. Mark's, and the feudal overlords of Curzola in Dalmatia, Lampsacus and Karistos in Greece, and Levkas in the Ionian Islands.

Extinct Families

1. BARBARIGO: One of the most illustrious of the "new families", who produced 2 doges, 10 procurators of St. Mark's, and 4 cardinals, including Gregorio, Bishop of Padua, who was canonized by Pope John XXIII.


2. BARBO: An important family that produced 4 procurators of St. Mark's, and Cardinal Pietro Barbo, who became Pope Paul II.


3. BERNARDO: A distinguished "new" family whose heirs included 4 procurators of St. Mark's. They are also remembered for their two magnificent Gothic palaces, one of which is on the Grand Canal.


4. CAVALLI: One of the "newest" houses, whose members included Jacopo, Marino, and Sigismondo, all of whom were distinguished ambassadors, and Jacopo, who was a famous general.


5. CELSI: An influential family that produced 2 procurators of St. Mark's, and Doge Lorenzo, who died in 1365.


6. CONTARINI: One of the most illustrious of the 12 "apostolic" families, who produced 8 doges, 44 procurators of St. Mark's, and Cardinal Gasparo.


7. DANDOLO: An illustrious family which produced 4 doges, including Enrico, who conquered Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, and Andrea, a famous chronicler and man of letters who was a personal friend of Petrarch. Other distinguished family members included 12 procurators of St. Mark's and a patriarch of Grado.


8. DIEDO: A "new" house whose heirs included 3 procurators of St. Mark's and a number of other distinguished citizens.


9. DUODO: A "new" family that counted among its more illustrious members 4 procurators of St. Mark's.


10. ERIZZO: A "new" family whose heirs included one doge and 4 procurators of St. Mark's. Two of its most famous members were Paolo, who defended Negroponte against the Turks, and Niccolo Guido, who was one of the few capable and courageous politicians left in the last days of the Republic.


11. FALIER: One of the oldest of the "apostolic families", probably of ancient Roman origin. Among the 3 doges that the family produced, Marino has gone down in history for his aborted attempt to proclaim himself the sole ruler of Venice in 1355, for which he paid with his head.


12. FOSCARINI: An "old" house that produced one doge (Marco, a famous man of letters, who died in 1763), 14 procurators, and any number of distinguished generals, diplomats and politicians.


13. GRITTI: A 'new" house whose members included doge Andrea, the general who won the final victory over the League of Cambrai, and whose features were immortalized by none other that Titian.


14. LABIA: A house admitted in 1646, renowned for their magnificent palace frescoed by Giambattista Tiepolo, and for the famous line, "L'abia o no l'abia, saro sempre Labia" ("With or without money, I'll still always be a Labia"), which was delivered by a family member as he heaved a gold plate out of his palace's window.


15. LANDO: A family that gave the Republic one doge, 4 procurators, and distinguished members of the clergy.


16. LEZZE: A family of diplomats and soldiers whose heirs included 7 procurators of St. Mark's.


17. MALPIERO: A 'new" house whose members included one doge and 3 procurators of St. Mark's.


18. MICHIEL: Another of the "old" families that produced 3 doges, 12 procurators of St. Mark's, one cardinal, and any number of influential politicians and members of the military establishment, including Marcantonio, who is remembered for his extraordinary courage in the last days of the Republic.


19. MOCENIGO: One of the grandest of the "new" houses, whose members included 7 doges, 25 procurators, and admirals Alvise Leonardo and Lazzaro, renowned for their victories over the Turks.


20. MOLIN: A prominent family whose heirs included one doge, 9 procurators of St. Mark's, and any number of politicians, generals, and influential merchants.


21. NAVAGERO: Among their more illustrious heirs were Andrea, a noted diplomat and poet, and Cardinal Bernardo.


22. ORSEOLO: A famous dynasty whose members included Doge Pietro I, who would later become a Camaldolese monk and saint, Pietro II, the conqueror of Istria and Dalmatia, Ottone, and Orso, Patriarch of Grado and Regent of the Ducato, connected by marriage with the Byzantine rulers and the family of St. Stephen, King of Hungary.


23. PARUTA: One of the "newest' houses, whose members included Pietro, a famous historian and procurator of St. Mark's.


24. PESARO: A distinguished family whose heirs included one doge and 7 procurators, and whose magnificent palace on the Grand Canal was designed by Baldassare Longhena.


25. PISANI: Wealthy merchants and bankers whose members included Vettor, Commander of the Fleet in the War of Chioggia against Genoa, 16 procurators of St. Mark's, and Doge Alvise, who built the grandiose 17th century Villa Pisani.


26. POLANI: One of the 12 "apostolic families", whose heirs included Doge Pietro (d.1148).


27. POLO: A famous family of adventurers and explorers whose members included Niccolo, Matteo and Marco, the celebrated author of The Travels of Marco Polo.


28. PONTE: An influential family that produced 3 procurators of St. Mark's, and the distinguished diplomat Doge Nicolo, who died in 1585.


29. REZZONICO: A family from Como, admitted to the Maggior Consiglio in 1687, who produced 2 procurators of St. Mark's, and 2 cardinals, one of whom became Pope Clement XIII.


30. RUZZINI: One of the "old" families, who produced 2 procurators of St. Mark's, and Doge Carlo, who achieved lasting fame as an exceptionally shrewd diplomat.


31. SAGREDO: St. Gerard of Csanad, bishop and martyr, was the first of the family's many illustrious heirs, whose ranks included one doge, 7 procurators. Others who achieved lasting fame were Giovanni, a learned historian and man of letters, and Agostino, a 19th-century scholar.


32. SANUDO: An ancient family of direct descent from the Candiani, and who produced 5 doges in the 9th and 10th centuries. Among its distinguished heirs were Marco, a nephew of Doge Enrico Dandolo, who conquered the Duchy of Naxos in the Cyclades, and Marino the Elder, known as "Torcello", who was a famous merchant, writer and geographer. Marino the Younger was the author of the monumental Renaissance chronicle entitled The Diaries.


33. SAVORGNAN: An illustrious Friulian house admitted in the 14th century whose heir included Girolamo, remebered for his heroism in the war against the League of Cambrai.


34. STENO: An influential family that produced 3 procurators of St. Mark's. Michele, who died in 1413, was the first doge to promote a policy of expansionism on the mainland.


35. TRON: An illustrious house that produced one doge and 7 procurators of St. Mark's, including Andrea, a Savio del Consiglio who wielded enormous political power in the mid-18th centuy.


36. VENDRAMIN: One of the "newest" houses, reknown for its extreme wealth, whose members included Doge Andrea (d. 1478), 3 procurators of St. Mark's and one cardinal.


37. VITTURI: A distinguished family who were feudal overlords in Dalmatia.


38. ZANE: One of the wealthiest of the "old" houses whose heirs included 5 procurators of St. Mark's.


39. ZENO: An "old" family who only recently became extinct. Among its many illustrious members were one doge and 13 procurators of St. Mark's. Other distinguished heirs were Cardinal Giovanni Battista, whose magnificent tomb is in St. Mark's Basilica, the navigators Nivolo, Antonio and Catterino, and Carlo, who became a national hero in the middle ages during the war against Genoa.


40. ZUSTINIAN: One of the illustrious "old" families, only recently extinct, who produced one doge and 27 procurators of St. Mark's. Among its most celebrated heirs were San Lorenzo, a Patriarch of Venice, the Blessed Paolo, a leader in the reform movement in the Catholic Church, Angelo Lorenzo, provveditore in Trieste in 1797, who made a courageous stand against Napoleon, and Leonardo, the greatest of the Venetian poets. The family's name is also spelled "Giustiniani".